James Ravinet
James Ravinet
Epitaphs of the Common Mud (2020) HD video. 09 minutes 20 seconds.
Epitaphs… forms part of the documentation of a series of investigations that react to the new industrial infrastructure of the Thames Estuary. In June 2015, the wreck of a 40ft, 12 ton Thames Bawley was dug out of the mudflats at Leigh Marshes in Essex by artist groups YoHa/Critical Art Ensemble. The ship, which was originally built in 1934, was then brought to the beach at Belton Way, Leigh-on-Sea. Visible to the public along a main thoroughfare, individuals were then led to actively contribute and enquire upon historical misrepresentation or situational knowledge (referred to as ‘Lost Species’) that is disappearing in view of the changing ecology, society and industry of the Thames Estuary. These ‘Lost Species’, accumulated as texts, were then inscribed into the hull and frame of the ship to form a public monument. This video details the final phase of the project as the ship is moved back onto the marshes, acknowledging the process of shipwrecking as a method to deal with the complexities of the changing landscape over-time.
James Ravinet
Visual Mitigation (Autonomy in the Anthropocene), (2016-2021) 3-channel HD Video. 10 minutes 45 seconds.
Visual Mitigation (Autonomy in the Anthropocene) examines the status and ecology of a decommissioned Nuclear Power Station on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex. The year is 2016 and the power station has entered it's 'care and management' phase to restore or remediate the landscape before it's final site clearance in 100 years. A roving camera provides a visual inspection of the borders of the power-station from a singular perspective, identifying plants and habitats on it's way. Whilst these appear coincidental, they have been established or introduced to visually soften or screen the power station in an attempt to gradually erase it from the landscape. This appears at odds with the long-term impact and precarity of the waste material generated from this site, along with speculative plans for 'Bradwell B'. Meanwhile, microscopic perspectives of the same landscape reminds us of what it means to manipulate environments without being able to sense or perceive them in their entirety.
@jamesravinet / www.jamesravinet.info